Every day we are being bombarded by marketing tricks and subliminal messages that can have a big impact on our behaviour and one of the biggest ways we can be affected by this is through our shopping habits, for instance buying things we didn't need and wouldn't usually purchase.
Most of the time we don't realise we're being exposed to these psychological 'tricks', but we might be on the lookout for them now after an expert shared her thoughts on how supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl use them to persuade shoppers to stay in the store for longer and potentially buy more than they went in for.
Consumer Psychologist Dr. Cathrine Jansson-Boyd from Anglia Ruskin University told The Mirror that one of the prime examples of this is Aldi and Lidl's popular middle aisles. The expert explained how the 'jumble sale' layout of these aisles makes us feel like we're going bargain-hunting, which in turn gives us an 'adrenaline rush'.
She said: "So you start with the 'serious' shopping, with vegetables and meats and then halfway through you feel ready to have some fun. The middle aisle breaks up the shopping experience as there are endless amounts of different items and people love it because it's like a jumble sale and jumble sales are where you usually go to find bargains.
"This structure means that we will dig through and look for random things and have the perception, because of the layout, that it's cheaper.
"Finding bargains gives us a slight adrenaline rush like we're getting a reward for something and this feeling doesn't instantly drop off, so the feelgood factor will continue as you move around the rest of the shop and you'll leave the store feeling good about yourself."
However, the expert warns you should approach the middle aisles with 'caution' as sometimes the deals aren't actually as good as they initially seem.
"We should be very careful with that as a consumer, just because we perceive it to be cheaper doesn't necessarily mean it is," Dr. Jansson-Boyd says.
The expert's final tip was all to do with Lidl and how it differs slightly from Aldi, as they sell branded products alongside their own range.
She explains that because these items are often on offer, people will buy more of them, even if they don't need them as they perceive them to be a 'real bargain'.
"That's Lidl's real draw, they have something else to offer alongside their own products and the branded items like Hagen Daaz ice creams or washing powders are generally sold cheaper, so people go in there thinking they'll find a 'real bargain'.
"It doesn't matter what it is because shoppers will think if it's in here, it must be a bargain and if I don't grab it now, it will be gone," she adds.
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